


Special Advisor to the President

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Character Study
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2001-02-03
Updated: 2001-02-03
Packaged: 2019-05-15 19:07:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14796260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: Different people of the West Wing reflect on their lives so far.





	Special Advisor to the President

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

 

RATING: G  
NOTES: New series. See Part One.  
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the West Wing or any of its related   
characters. Don't sue.   
SUMMARY: Different people of the West Wing reflect on their lives so   
far.

I wish I could say what I'm about to say and actually mean it: I   
wish Josh would listen to me. The problem is that no one listens to   
me. They listen to Kenny and I just kind of stand there while we   
argue through translation. My entire life I've been deaf, and   
sometimes the frustration disappears, and sometimes it's all too   
strong. Some people seem to think that because I'm deaf, I'm also   
stupid and others seem to think that if they speak s-l-o-w-l-y and   
enuciate, it will actually make a difference. Now that I have Kenny,   
they rarely do that any more... However, they all talk to him and   
not to me.   
I wasn't suppose to have been here this long. I came in to work   
on English as the national language and other polling nightmares, and   
now it seems that I just can't get enough of this place. I like   
arguing with Josh, that's for sure. He gets this cute kind of smirk   
when he gets exasperated. It's darling.   
He's a sexy guy. I shouldn't be thinking that, but he is. Remind   
me never to tell him that either.   
Josh has just left the room that they commonly refer to as my   
office. Kenny is signing with me and I'm slightly conscious of   
returning the conversation, but my mind is elsewhere.   
How did I get here? When I was a child, I had the hardest time   
dealing with all the people who were too ignorant to realize that   
although I was deaf, I was actually somewhat intelligent. It's hard   
to grow up like that. I grew up though, and I went to college and I   
entered the field of politics. I'm actually pretty good at it too.   
Some people are okay with dealing with me at first; others look at me   
as if they've never seen someone who couldn't hear before.   
My parents were supportive when I was growing up. They never once   
treated me like I was stupid or an invalid. Actually, to be more   
prescise, my mother was supportive. My father just never said   
anything at all. He was never home very much. He was a workaholic,   
just like I am today. Unlike me however, he also had a bit of a   
drinking problem. I hope I'm not like that.   
Having the good luck to be in California was nice. Sacremento. I   
mean, if I had ended up somewhere like Fresno, God knows where I'd be   
now. I'm seriously lucky that didn't happen.   
So now here I am, in Washington D.C., working in the White House   
for one of the greatest Presidents of all time. Bartlet is a great   
President. He truly is. I mean, when I first met him, I was a bit   
shocked by his bluntness, but I also realized that he was under a   
great deal of stress at the time. Being President can do that to you,   
I've heard.   
What strong people there are around here. What strong wonderful   
people there are around here that keep this country in running   
condition. The fact that Joshua Lyman has any doubts that they'll be   
re-elected surprises me. I mean, aside from the fact that he's got a   
heck of an ego, he also knows the playing field pretty well and so do   
the rest of them. They know that there's only a one in about twenty   
chance that they won't be re-elected, what with their numbers and all.  
Why is it that I'm compelled to stop thinking about work even   
though I'm sitting here in my office talking to my assistant? I want   
to think about something else; anything else.  
There's so much in my life that I look back on that I remember   
with fondness. There's so much that I look back on that I remember   
with tears. What an interesting world that I've experienced. I don't   
suppose that there are that many people who have had it better than I   
have, but I'm never so sure about saying things like that. I have met   
a lot of people in the course of my life and my education who have   
the same handicap that I do, and it's not like we're a lower class of   
people. I've met doctors and scientists, other politicians, all sorts   
of people.  
And yet there are still people out there who think that if they   
speak s-l-o-w-l-y and enuciate, that will make a difference. Idiots.  
My mother used to tell me stories before I went to sleep. We'd   
talk about our days or we'd read side by side. I always loved   
reading. As I grew older, I had less time to do it in, but she was   
always there in her bed, reading whichever book she was on, waiting   
for me to come in and say goodnight. I miss my mother. I miss those   
times that we had together.   
For a living, I get people elected, I analyze polls, I give   
politicians advice and I argue a heck of a lot. I couldn't do very   
much of that without Kenny. It's strange how French and Spanish and   
German are all languages that you can learn in High School, but Sign   
Language is not on the curriculum. If it were, my life would probably   
be a lot easier. A bit more lonely without Kenny, but he'd probably   
find something not quite so menial to do with his life.   
I have to call Al Keifer. I really don't want to call Al   
Keifer. He's been on my case ever since they gave me an office here.   
I don't know if he thinks I'm some sort of "traitor" or what; he   
mentioned something about Josh, but I'm not sure I really wanted to   
go into that. Josh is a good guy, a sweet guy with strong ideals and   
a nice demeanor about him. Al is a guy who is convinced that he's   
always right, even when he knows he's undeniably wrong, and then he   
goes around telling people to do stupid things, and he calls himself   
a genius.  
I wonder what he's so worried about. Ha.  
How is it that I have so many meetings today? I'd rather just   
sit here in my office and pretend like I'm paying attention to what   
Kenny is saying to me. I think he knows that I'm not paying   
attention. He smiles at me and says that he's going to get a cup of   
coffee. It's ten in the morning; part of me wonders why he didn't get   
his cup of coffee a lot sooner.   
I think I should go visit my father some time soon. I haven't   
been to the home in nearly a year. He hasn't called me or inquired,   
but I think that has more to do with the Alzheimer's than anything   
else. I believe in that man, despite all the things that we've been   
through. He got over the alcohol for me. I got over the hostility for   
him. Yes, I admit it. There was a time when I was just naturally   
hostile towards people because I believed that everyone was going to   
treat me like an invalid; I thought that if I was ready for their   
rudeness, I would be okay, but my 'readiness for rudeness' somehow   
morphed into 'come near me and I'll bite your <censored> head off'   
and it showed. I learned how to change that, thank God.  
I still use it in politics though. Who could blame me?  
I suppose I have to go now. There are so many things that I   
have to do. Actually there's not that much that I have to do; it   
would just look better if I were working on the stuff that I was   
supposed to be working on as opposed to sitting here staring into   
space. Wouldn't want people to think that I'm stupid or anything.   
I'm not stupid. I know that. I made it this far. I plan on   
making it a hell of a lot further as well.

*********************

  


End file.
